Prodity: Product by Design Kyle Evans

In this episode, I sit down with Varag Gharibjanian, the founding partner of Actuate, a boutique advisory firm. Varag shares his personal journey from an engineering background to pioneering in business strategy and technology partnerships, especially within AR/VR spaces. We delve into his early career challenges, significant milestones at major tech companies, and the lessons learned from merging technology with business. Varag also discusses the current trends in XR and AI technologies, providing insights into future developments. If you're interested in business strategy, the future of technology, or growing a business, you won't want to miss this discussion.
Varag Gharibjanian
Varag Gharibjanian is a visionary leader known for his ability to drive growth through innovative strategies, disruptive technologies, and transformative deals. With a clear purpose of leaving the world better than he found it, Varag is passionate about bridging business opportunities with technology to create tech-enabled products that make a meaningful impact.

Over the last 10+ years, Varag has dedicated himself to untangling the knots and bottlenecks faced by enterprise and start-up technology companies. Drawing upon his expertise, he has assembled a team of unique strategists, operators, and technologists who share his vision of helping companies grow through better strategy and powerful deep technologies, including AI, AR, VR, hardware, semi, wireless, mobile, and IoT.

Links from the Show:Links: actuatetech.io

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Video has become ubiquitous in our communication. From virtual meetings and virtual doctor visits, to social media, virtual events, and live commerce, we expect video everywhere. But the technology that makes this happen isn’t easy, and needs and expectations are changing rapidly. So what does the future hold for our virtual communications? How have we solved these challenges in the past and how will we continue to solve them? How do we think about the UX of virtual communication and video? What should you do if you want to get into design and what communities should you join or create? We explore these questions and many others in this episode.
Pete Hawkes:I’m a designer and developer, tinkerer and mentor, with a passion for human-centered design and development. I have built next generation interfaces and experiences at the intersection both the digital and physical. I have contributed to patents in gestural and spatial design, developed remote collaboration prototypes and products to define new modes of work, and led cross-functional teams to envision and implement large-scale, immersive environments for fortune 500 companies including IBM, Lockheed Martin, and McKinsey. Storytelling and iteration are central to my work and process. I leverage narrative and prototyping at scale to align contributors and stakeholders around a shared vision and to connect and motivate the individuals and teams I work with.
Links from the Show:LinkedIn: Petehawkes.com, Peterhawkes.com
Books: So Anyway, Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens
Links: Swiss Army Knife, Daily.co

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In this episode, host Kyle Evans interviews Vikram Chalana, the founder behind Pictory, an innovative AI video creation tool for content marketers. With a deep background in technology and entrepreneurship, Chalana shares his journey from building a startup in his garage to leading a groundbreaking AI venture. Together, we delve into the evolution of content creation, emphasizing the shift towards video and the role of AI in enhancing productivity and storytelling, including Pictory's mission to democratize video creation, allowing professionals across various fields to craft compelling narratives without the need for complex tools. We also discuss the broader implications of AI in business and society, including the challenges and opportunities it presents.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or tech enthusiast, this episode provides valuable insights into the intersection of AI, content creation, and business strategy.
Vikram Chalana
Vikram Chalana is a visionary entrepreneur and trailblazer in the world of AI-driven content creation. As the CEO of Pictory, Vikram leads a team dedicated to revolutionizing the way we generate video and social content. With Pictory’s groundbreaking AI technology, long-form content, such as blogs and webinars, undergoes a miraculous transformation into a month’s worth of engaging visual and social media content – all accomplished in a matter of minutes.

Links from the Show:LinkedIn: Vikram Chalana
Books: Crossing the Chasm Podcast: This American Life
Links: Pictory.ai - Use code Podcast25

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In this episode, Kyle interviews Suman Kanuganti, co-founder and CEO of Personal.ai. Suman discusses his journey from an engineer with a robotics background to launching innovative ventures like Aira, assisting visually impaired individuals, and Personal AI, aimed at extending cognitive abilities through AI. The conversation explores the technology behind Personal.ai, its unique approach to personalizing user experiences, and the importance of data privacy. Suman also shares his insights on entrepreneurship in the AI space and the ethical considerations of AI development.
Suman Kanuganti:Two-time venture-backed entrepreneur, AI enthusiast, and accessibility champion awarded Forbes 40 Under 40 and Smithsonian’s Top Innovator to Watch awards Suman Kanuganti is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Personal.ai.
Links from the Show:LinkedIn: Linkedin 
Books: Sapiens
Links: s.personal.ai
TV: Painkiller, Altered Carbon

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In this episode, Ryan Glasgow, the founder and CEO of Sprig, shares his insights on product management and the impact of AI. He and Kyle discuss his background in product management and his experience scaling companies like Weebly and Vurb from startup to successful exit. Ryan also explains the importance of product market fit and how to determine if a product is meeting customer needs. We also explore the concept of feature market fit and the role of AI in analyzing user data. Ryan provides advice for aspiring founders and product managers and shares his recommendations for interesting podcasts and products.
Takeaways
Put in the time and gain experience in product management before starting a company.Product market fit is determined by how disappointed customers would be if the product no longer existed.Feature market fit is about understanding the importance of specific features to users, even if they are infrequently used.AI is revolutionizing product management by providing insights and analysis at scale.Consider using AI to analyze user data and gain deeper understanding of the product experience.Founders should focus on building enduring businesses and not just raising seed funding.Google Bard is an AI tool that has shown promise in providing accurate and real-time responses. OpenAI requires advanced prompt engineering and custom instructions, while Google provides more basic prompts and easier responses.Google's approach to product management focuses on polished consumer-grade experiences, while OpenAI's models require more hand-holding.The ease of use of AI models is becoming more apparent in Google's offerings, potentially impacting user preferences.The future outlook involves observing the race between OpenAI and Google in terms of mainstream adoption and product development.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background03:28 Getting into Product Management06:09 Starting as a Product Manager at Early Companies11:32 The Process of Patenting16:27 Understanding Product Market Fit20:03 The Importance of Feature Market Fit28:01 The Impact of AI on Product Management31:02 Incorporating AI into Product Insights42:24 Advice for Founding a Company47:18 Advice for Product Managers49:05 Interesting Recommendations50:12 Product Recommendations51:11 Comparison between OpenAI and Google52:42 Ease of Use and Product Management53:29 Conclusion and Future Outlook
Links from the Show:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanglasgow/
Books: Competing Against Luck, Amp It Up
Website: https://sprig.com/

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Welcome to another episode of Prodity: Product by Design with your host, Kyle. In this insightful episode, we're joined by Hubert Palan, founder and CEO of Product Board, to explore the evolving landscape of product management and its impact on the tech industry. In this episode, we discuss the evolution of product management, the importance of gaining a deep understanding of customers, and leveraging AI and other tools to amplify your impact. Join us for an incredibly insightful discussion as we dive deep into product management and design!
Hubert Palan Bio:Hubert Palan is the founder and CEO of ProductBoard, a company focused on product management. He was previously the VP of product management at GoodData. Palan holds a master's degree in computer science from Czech Technical University in Prague and an MBA in entrepreneurship from UC Berkeley.
Links from the Show:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hubertpalan/
Books: Outlive
Website: Productboard.comLinks: Lex Fridman Podcast

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